Stage 19 of the Tour de France and it is a 188.3km long flat race that starts in Castelnau-Magnoac and ends in Cahors.
The Map
Sights and points of interest along the route
The start town is situated on a castral mound that once had a 13th century castle sat on the top and at the time of its formation there was a phenomenon whereby people spread across the local countryside were grouping together at the foot of castles to gain protection from the local lord. There is a memorial and museum dedicated to the Pommiès Corps Franc, a clandestine unit sponsored by the Army Resistance Organisation that operated during WWII, especially noted for sabotaging the Hispano-Suiza (Alstom) factory and thereby saving locals from an air bombardment. There is also the 15th century Collegiate Church of the Assumption.
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| Castelnau-Magnoac |
As they get on the road today they pass through Chélan, Masseube, Ornézan with its 13th century church, Orbessan with a 17th century castle and then onto the city of Auch, with many of the building being built by Louis XV and you will find the Museum of the Americas and 15th century St Mary's Cathedral. They leave the city and onto Preignan, with 18th century Testère Castle, Sainte-Christie with a population of 550 and then onto Fleurance, which hosts an annual Astronomy Festival for the first 10 days of August and has 14th century St Laurent Church. Saint-Clar is next along the route quickly followed by Saint-Créac and then Marsac, with its 12th century castle.
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| Marsac Castle |
At 86km along the route is Poupas, with a population of just 90 it has 15th century St Christopher's Church and the ruins of a 17th century castle. Lachapelle with St Peter's Church being built in the 13th century. Lamotte Castle, also built in the 13th century is in the village of Bardigues, with the castle now being used to host exhibitions and has a shop selling local products. Auvillar has been listed as one of the most beautiful villages in France. During the 18th and 19th centuries it was one of the largest earthenware producers and the museum exhibits almost 500 pieces.
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| Auvillar |
The town of Valence d'Agen was founded in 1283 by King Edward I of England and is home to some 5,200 people. Further on the route is Goudourville which has a 12th century castle and the 15th century Saint-Julien-de-Brioude Church, which is plain looking from the outside but has two ceiling paintings representing the resurrection of Lazarus and the burial.
24km further along the riders reach Lauzerte which has some 15th century houses and 13th century Saint Bartholomew's Church. The place of note is Montcuq-en-Quercy-Blanc, which was popularised in the 1970s by a French TV show and was the home of Nino Ferrer, a singer of Jazz and Blues, although I myself have heard of him but then I'm not into Jazz and Blues music.
The finish town today is Cahors, famous for its wine and the 14th century Valentré Bridge which has eight arches and three towers and each end was protected by a small castle but these have since disappeared. Since 1995 it has been a pedestrian only bridge. Other sites include St Etienne's Cathedral, medieval Cahors prison and 22 secret gardens designed in 2002 to enhance unused spaces and offer various themes such as the Herbularium which is a garden of medicinal plants and the Witch and Dragon garden is themed on demonic plants and legends.
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| Valentré Bridge |
Who Won the Stage and Who Won What Jersey
The Stage winner is Christophe Laporte for Jumbo-Visma
The Yellow Jersey won by Jonas Vingegaard for Jumbo-Visma
The Green Jersey won by Wout van Aert for Jumbo-Visma.
The Polka Dot Jersey won by Jonas Vingegaard for Jumbo-Visma
The White Jersey won by Tadej Pogacar for UAE Team Emirates.
Combatif Award won by Quinn Simmons for Trek-Segafredo/USA.
Leading team: Ineos-Grenadiers
The Challenge: Ooh look! It's a flat bit. After the uphill push yesterday, it is time t take a step back and get back in to our normal rhythms - no need to rush or zoom today! (Unless you're actually cycling the Tour de France, in that case keep going!). The final destination today is Cahors, homme to a bridge with an interesting story.
Spin something you wouldn't normally spin. This can be a different preparation (e.g. tops, batts, roving) or a different fibre type. If you're a woolly wonder, why not try a plant fibre.
Suggested Fibre: Gourami is our suggested fibre for those who want to give a pure bamboo yarn a go.
What I did
I already knew that I would be spinning today's choice on this TDF as carded slivers was on the shopping list but I had some in the Advent Calendar.
I wasn't able to pre-draft in the way that I am used to but I was able to open it up.
It was a tricky spin for me as I always do short-forward draw, where you keep the twist away from the draft zone and only allow the twist in once you moved your hand holding the fibre backwards revealing the small group of fibres that the twist will be added to and then allow the twist in and I always spin from either commercial top or hand combed top. For me to be able to spin this and also to spin it fairly fine and even I had to venture into new territory for me and do some kind of short-forward-longdraw mash up, so allowing the twist into the draft zone and pulling the fibres back to thin out and even out the yarn. Not my best spinning and not my favourite spinning, I found it quite stressful but I do love the end result, especially the colour.
The finished yarn is double-knit weight and 100g/201m which in terms of the TdF length calculations is 303m - 2 singles plus the plied length = 3 x finished yarn length.
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